Submitting Institution: East London (University of)

REF impact found 26 Case Studies

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Summary of the impact

Research at the University of East London has catalysed action across a
wide range of policy, science and practice activities aimed at restoring
and conserving peatlands. It has underpinned the development of a
government-affiliated body (IUCN UK PP) committed to ensuring effective
conservation and restoration of peatlands, and helped shape
carbon-management initiatives and policies at national and
inter-governmental level, prompting Ministerial commitments and
substantial funding for UK peatlands. It has also supported
inter-governmental consensus over the sustainable management of peatlands
and their carbon stores, and influenced legal decisions about windfarm
development on peat. Furthermore, it has enhanced public understanding of
important environmental issues relating to peatlands and their ecosystem
services, particularly in relation to greenhouse-gas emissions and water
management.

Submitting Institution

University of East London

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken at the University of East London has confronted the
historical lack of documentation, representation and participation in the
British theatre by ethnic minority communities, with particular reference
to the British Asian community. This work has been used to create and
shape the production of important new theatre pieces, as well as to engage
and develop new young and diverse audiences for them. Workshops, post-show
discussions and symposia relating to the production of these pieces have
increased the engagement of these new audiences both with theatre
generally, and with the often sensitive, contested, and
politically-charged subject-matter of the specific pieces under review.
The research has also been used as the basis for the development and
delivery of professional development training for emerging theatre artists
from minority community backgrounds.

Summary of the impact

Empirical evidence generated by UEL research has directly influenced the
reform of health financing in two Indian states with total populations of
154 million through changes to provider behaviour, the organisation and
use of funds, and treatment verification processes and package rates. The
impacts of this work have been commended by the UK Department for
International Development (DFID) and the World Bank, and attracted
interest from states with similar healthcare schemes. More widely, it has
helped policymakers in India and the UK recognise the importance of
including high quality comprehensive primary care in India's strategic
planning for universal health care, and the benefits to the UK in
prioritising primary care collaboration with India.

Submitting Institution

University of East London

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Summary of the impact

Work undertaken at UEL on public pedagogy has supported the application
of pedagogical research across public and political spheres, in particular
in terms of `disaster education'. This has delivered public education and
social inclusion benefits to policy-makers and practitioners working in
the fields of UK and international disaster education. Other key
beneficiaries include local authorities, further education students, and
transport operators and attendees of the 2012 Olympic Games. In addition
to the benefits of its Disaster Education research, the Centre's more
recent `RadioActive' community radio projects (started April 2012) have
engaged disenfranchised young people and increased social inclusion.

Submitting Institution

University of East London

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Summary of the impact

Clinical, observational and biographical research developed at UEL has
produced and supported
the novel application of a practice-near methodology adapted to evaluate
social work practice and
social problems. The benefits of this are described here in the context of
two illustrative examples
exemplifying the adaptation of the UEL methodology to address
self-harm/suicide prevention and
the safeguarding of children's rights in London's African communities.
Those benefits accrue to
practitioners, policy makers, community organisations and individual
health and social care service
users, and include: the delivery of training leading to positive changes
in professional practice; and
contributions to discussion, debate and policy and guideline formulation.
The research has also
been used to enhance public awareness of important social and cultural
issues.

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by UEL's Drugs and Addictive Behaviours Research Group
(DAB) and the UEL Institute for Research in Child Development (IRCD) from
1990-2012 has provided key information about the neuro-psychological risks
of the use of the drug MDMA (Ecstasy).This information has been used by
the US and UK governments, medical professionals and public information
organisations. The research was included in the UK government Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD, 2009) review of MDMA effects
and informed government and public debate on the legal classification of
MDMA. It has also supported associated debates around the potential
harmful effects of MDMA. Subsequent media and public engagement with those
debates has contributed to increased public awareness of the effects and
risks of MDMA and engaged new audiences with important social and
scientific issues. More recent research has informed parents and medical
practitioners about the potential harmful effects of MDMA on specific
aspects of infant functioning when taken during pregnancy.

Submitting Institution

University of East London

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health ServicesPsychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Summary of the impact

UEL's Drugs and Addictive Behaviours Research Group (DABRG) was the first
UK group to demonstrate that regular smoking can cause stress and
depression. This work has had - and continues to have - a significant
impact on public awareness and understanding of the effects of smoking on
mood and cognition. Input into the Department of Health Consultation on
the Future of Tobacco Control has directly fed into UK Tobacco Control
Policy. More recent research on electronic cigarettes has informed public
health professionals, smokers and users about the nature and effects of
e-cigarette use. In particular, the work has underpinned the development
and delivery of new and improved evidence-based information resources for
use by these stakeholders. It has also delivered commercial benefits for
e-cigarette manufacturers, whose marketing strategies, lobbying activities
and preparations for regulatory control have been directly informed by
this work.

Submitting Institution

University of East London

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health ServicesPsychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Summary of the impact

Research conducted within the University of East London's Institute of
Health and Human Development (IHHD) is reshaping the development,
commissioning, delivery and evaluation of interventions to address the
wider determinants of health and health-inequalities, and has had impacts
on public policy, service design and, ultimately, public health and
wellbeing. Grounded in close relationships with policy-makers and end
users, UEL's primary research into community development and co-production
has informed the design of health improvement interventions, delivered
through the cross-institutional, community-based Well London project.
Research findings have driven Big Lottery funding priorities, contributed
to parliamentary debates on health, informed NICE and Local Government
guidance, shaped Marmot Review Team and NESTA policy, and led health
authorities to commission new services and adopt new approaches to service
delivery.

Submitting Institution

University of East London

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health ServicesStudies In Human Society: Sociology

Summary of the impact

Research at UEL has contributed to international practices of conflict
prevention through applied
performance practice-as-research. Initially based on the use of culture in
post-genocide Rwanda, it
has been extended since 2008 to applied performance practices in
Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan. The research has had wide-ranging impacts, including on
international practices of
conflict prevention; public awareness and understanding of conflict
issues; public access to and
participation in political processes in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; the
design and delivery of school
curricula and new extra-curricula opportunities for young people
(especially in Kyrgyzstan); the
inspiration, creation and support of new forms of artistic and social
expression (particularly in
performance art); and the integration of participatory practices as a
teaching and learning method
in the UK and abroad. The research has also delivered local economic
benefits and improvements
in the welfare and quality of life of individuals involved in projects in
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Submitting Institution

University of East London

Unit of Assessment

Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health ServicesStudies In Human Society: Sociology

Summary of the impact

The findings of empirical research conducted by Professor Jim Barry and
Dr Trudie Honour of UEL were shared at two focused capacity building
sessions held in 2008 and 2009 for women leaders in middle and senior
positions of responsibility and decision-making in the public and third
sectors of a number of developing countries. Workshops were attended by
women from Albania, Bahrain, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ecuador,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan,
Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Participants considered the
relevance and application of the research findings for their own
countries, and worked together and with the researchers to formulate
potential capacity development implementation strategies for women in
positions of responsibility in those countries.